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Asleep at the Wheel



Last Updated: 8/12/2009

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Status: Single
City: AUSTIN
State: Texas
Country: US
Signup Date: 10/12/2005

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Tuesday, November 03, 2009 


Duets, a special anthology featuring 14 unique collaborations, includes classics from other artists' Grammy-winning CDs plus four brand new tracks.  Duets ranges from rock to reggae, country to contemporary Christian, and blues to ballads, all unified by the Blind Boys' deep, soulful harmonizing.   Duets features three previously unreleased tracks - with Lou Reed, John Hammond and Toots Hibbert - as well as a new song with Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles which will be simultaneously released on his forthcoming CD.  Also included is the audio version of a tune with Marva Wright which, until now, was only available on video on the Blind Boys' Live In New Orleans DVD.  The album also features performances with Ben Harper, Randy Travis, Bonnie Raitt, Solomon Burke, Susan Tedeschi, Jars of Clay, Charlie Musselwhite, Asleep At The Wheel, and Dan Zanes.  Of the nine previously-released tracks on Duets, seven have appeared on Grammy-nominated or Grammy-winning albums.  The diverse group of artists that make up Duets reflects the expansive appeal of the group as well as the widespread reverence for their talent.

The album features our song "The Devil Ain't Lazy" which can also be found on our album Reinventing the Wheel.

 

Click below for more details about the Blind Boys CD:

http://www.blindboys.portmerch.com/stores/product.php?productid=17066&cat=0&page=1&featured

 

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009 

Current mood:  blessed
Category: Music




Riding High on the Success

 of

Willie & The Wheel

Asleep at the Wheel and Willie Nelson

to

Tour December 2009

 

(Austin, TX) Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel announced today upcoming tour dates to support the release of their CD collaboration Willie & The Wheel. The record Rolling Stone gave “four stars” and the Washington Post called, “one of the first great albums of 2009,” is a concept thirty years in the making - a collection of classic western swing songs hand-picked by the late Jerry Wexler.


“Willie and I are cooking up quite a concert. Not only will we be showcasing songs from the album, but Willie Nelson and the Family will be busting out the classics. I’m sure there will be a few surprises too!”


"Jerry wanted us to do this album and I'm glad we got to do it for him, “says Willie Nelson. “And that he heard it before he passed on."


Willie & the Wheel is a CD whose time has come,” says Ray Benson.  “Jerry Wexler originally came up with this concept back when Willie was on the Atlantic label. But, before the record could be made Willie left Atlantic for CBS records and so the idea was shelved.”


Better known as ‘Mr. R&B’, Jerry Wexler was a great fan of the original Western Swing bands like Bob Wills, Milton Brown and Cliff Bruner – all first introduced to him while he was studying journalism in Kansas City.  Willie Nelson also had grown up on western swing and it has always figured heavily into his approach to music. Finally Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel (hailed as the modern kings of western swing) were added, resulting in a sublime album, surefooted in its mastery but still as playful and daring as the originals. Such a fitting collaboration certainly begs the question as to why this hasn’t happened already.


In 2007, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Asleep at the Wheel set out on the wildly successful Last of the Breed tour and PBS television broadcast - showcasing classic western swing and Texas country music. Not long after, Ray Benson got the call from Willie and his manager.


According to Ray, they asked, "’Jerry Wexler thinks now’s the time to do the western swing CD.” From a catalogue of nearly 40 selections Jerry and Ray painstakingly narrowed the list down to twelve. Always the producer with a vision, Jerry was involved in every way. He insisted that some of the tracks should include horns as well as a return to traditional fiddles and lap steel guitar associated with western swing.


“It was a sad day indeed when the news came in that Jerry Wexler had passed away,” says Ray.  “We’re so proud to have had this opportunity to make this record with him.”

 
Willie and The Wheel Tour Dates
 

12/2          Sahuarita, AZ             Desert Diamond Casino


12/3          Sahuarita, AZ             Desert Diamond Casino


12/4          Indio, CA                    Fantasy Springs Casino   


12/5          Las Vegas, NV             Planet Hollywood


12/6          San Jose, CA               San Jose Civic Auditorium


12/7          Bakersfield, CA            Fox Theatre


12/8          Los Angeles, CA           Club Nokia


12/9          Thousand Oaks, CA      Fred Kavli Theatre


12/10        Highland, CA                San Manuel Indian Casino


12/12        Rio Puerco, NM             Route 66 Casino


12/13        Mescalero, NM              Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino


12/15        Austin, TX                   Austin Music Hall


Pre-sale Info for the tour can be found here: http://willienelson.com/news/new-willie-dates-pre-sales/#more-6183
Thursday, October 15, 2009 


Ray sat down with Y'all Wire to discuss Austin, ACL Fest and Willie Nelson. Have a listen:


Part One


Part Two
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 

Category: Music
South Austin was treated to surprise guests last night for Dale Watson's regularly scheduled performance at the Broken Spoke: Asleep at the Wheel, the Texas Tornados, Kimmy Rhodes, and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden. The event was set up for a British television taping.

The Texas Tornados have recently wrapped up a new album that had begun before Freddie Fender passed away in 2006, to be released early next year under Ray Benson's Bismeaux Records label. Co-founder Doug Sahm, a staple of the Austin music scene back in the days of the Soap Creek Saloon and the Armadillo World Headquarters, died in 1999. His son Shawn Sahm has been a major force in keeping the spirit of his father, "Tex-Mex" music, and the Texas Tornados alive. On November 6, 2009 there will be a benefit show at Antone's to raise money for a marker on a location in Austin recently dedicated as "Doug Sahm Hill."

Click here to view some photos:
Monday, October 05, 2009 

Current mood:  rejuvenated
Category: Music
Ray sat down with Dwight Adair recently to talk about Bob Wills and the influence he had on AATW's career. 
Click on the radio button when you visit the site. http://www.bobwills.com
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 


Tonight (9/16) Asleep at the Wheel will headline "Austin at Americana" at The Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, TN, with Reckless Kelly, Seth Walker, The Trishas and Amy Cook. The show starts at 8pm and The Wheel hits the stage at 10pm. Additional info may be obtained here: http://www.mercylounge.com/calendar/

 

Tomorrow (9/17) The Americana Music Association is proud to announce Asleep at the Wheel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance at the 8th Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony, presented by the Gibson Foundation, scheduled for September 17th at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Tennessee.
 
“I can’t think of a more deserving outfit for this award,” says the legendary Willie Nelson, himself a past award recipient of the AMA’s Lifetime Achievement for Songwriting. The band’s recent collaboration with Nelson, Willie and the Wheel, has garnered critical acclaim and is a fixture on the Americana charts since its release earlier this year. “Our Ray Benson will leave a mark,” adds Nelson.   “He’s been a lot of places, done a lot of things and recorded it all.”

For more information please visit the AMA website at
http://www.americanamusic.org/site.php

 

 

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Friday, September 11, 2009 
Thursday, September 10, 2009 


It seems like forever since we actually played a gig in Austin so we decided for TWO shows this weekend. We hope to see y'all out there with us.

Friday September 11, 2009

Tim's Porch at The Backyard

9pm

Jeremy Miller Band will open.

You can purchase tickets here.

 

Saturday September 12, 2009

Z'Tejas' 20th Anniversary Celebration

6pm- 10pm // 1110 W. 6th St

Z’Tejas is throwing one huge 20th anniversary party that will take place at Z’Tejas’ original location in the historic Victorian home in Austin’s famous Sixth Street District.

Tickets are available at any Z’Tejas Austin location or by calling 866.598.3527. The $65 ticket includes a famous Z’Tejas dinner buffet, drinks (the famed Sixth Street Margarita will be featured and introducing their 20th Anniversary margarita), live music, and a silent auction benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The idea for the Lance Armstrong Foundation originated at the Z’Tejas Sixth Street location in 1996 when Lance Armstrong and four others met for dinner with the common goal to unite people battling cancer.

Live Music Featuring:
Ray Benson and members of ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
The Kat’s Meow Band
Will Sexton, Stephen Doster & Bill Carter
Just a few of the amazing silent auction items:
A two night trip to Mexico to tour the authentic tequila distillery Casa Herradura
An array of commemorative wines
A signed Sammy Hagar guitar
Livestrong gear
A private dinner by founding Chef Jack Gilmore
An autographed football by Austinite Drew Brees

 

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Tuesday, September 08, 2009 


For the month of September you can download a digital copy of Willie And The Wheel at Amazon.com for 5 bucks! If you are interested click here = http://www.amazon.com/Willie-And-The-Wheel/dp/B001OTQ1ZY/ref=dm_ap_alb1

 

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Friday, September 04, 2009 

Current mood:  contemplative
Category: Music
Head on over to http://mvyradio.com/rhythm_and_roots.php this Saturday to hear us play live! Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!
Tuesday, September 01, 2009 

Current mood:  happy

Asleep at the Wheel will be on Sirius XM radio in the afternoon then BIG gig at BB Kings in NYC! Paul Shafer from Letterman comin' as well as some of the guys from The Roots band!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 

Current mood:  enthralled
Here's some press from today's paper about Elizabeth. Enjoy!

Columbia native touring in wake of duet with country legend Willie Nelson

Elizabeth McQueen is sitting on top of the world thanks to her folksy blues duo with Willie Nelson. Their rendition of "Sitting on Top of the World" is one of a dozen tracks on "Willie and the Wheel," the latest CD by Ray Benson's Asleep at the Wheel, a surefire guarantee of Western swing longevity.

Read More on this site: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/Asleep-at-the-Wheel-brings-folksy-roots-rock-to-Birchmere-8156193-54841112.html
Monday, August 24, 2009 

Current mood:  busy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
Washington City Paper caught up with Ray to discuss the current happenings with AATW.

Austin’s Asleep at the Wheel has a lengthy resumé that includes nine Grammys, tours with Bob Dylan, and a recent well-lauded collaboration with Willie NelsonWillie and the Wheel. The members of Asleep at the Wheel are practitioners of Western Swing, and, according to their Web site, they have “kept a buzz on a genre that might be described as ‘fringe,’” while maintaining musical integrity.

Asleep at the Wheel also has long standing ties with the Washington D.C., area:  The group formed in 1970 in West Virginia and started gigging in D.C. They’ve been frequent inaugural ball performers since George H.W. Bush took office,  and were scheduled to play the White House on September 11th, 2001.

Washington City Paper spoke with Asleep at the Wheel founder and sole remaining original member Ray Benson ahead of Wednesday’s show at the Birchmere.

Washington City Paper:  Though Austin is Asleep at the Wheel’s home base, you do have strong connections to the D.C. area. You’ve played inaugural balls for several presidents and were scheduled to play the White House on 9/11. Aside from the Texas connection with the Bush family, why do you think you’re popular with the Washington crowd?

Ray Benson: Well, we started in D.C. We formed in West Virginia and the first gig we played was at L’Enfant Plaza during the Medicine Ball Tour opening for Hot Tuna and Alice Cooper of all people in 1970. We’ve also been playing in the area for 40 years.

Read the full article here: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/blackplasticbag/2009/08/24/q-a-with-asleep-at-the-wheels-ray-benson/
Thursday, August 13, 2009 


Do you want to attend an Asleep at the Wheel recording session? Find out how: http://www.musicpi.com/page/page/5830194.htm

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009 


We will be uploading a bootleg concert from The Lone Star Cafe in New York City from 7/1/80. All you have to do is enter your email! We will be uploading one track per week. Enjoy! - AATW



http://www.reverbnation.com/asleepatthewheel

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